Is the hangover free drink true or false?

North Korea issued, through the newspaper The Pyongyang Times, a press release claiming that they created an alcoholic beverage that doesn’t cause hangover. Too good to be true?

Scientists at the Taedonggang Foodstuff Factory, North Korean company, created the Koryo Liquor. A blend of ginseng extract and glutinous rice burned resulting in a soft drink with 30 to 40% alcohol, but that doesn’t cause hangover. For comparison, a rum usually has 40% alcohol. It is not mentioned if the drink is distilled, it says only about fermentation. According to Aline Bortoletto, my source consulted, a researcher and doctoral candidate at the Cachaça Quality Lab from the University of São Paulo – Brazil, it isn’t possible that a fermented beverage range this alcoholic content without being passing through distillation.

The glutinous rice is first boiled and then roasted. In boiling, nutrients settle in the bottom and the starch is broken down into glucose molecules at high temperature. According to them, “the rice contains essential amino acids, inorganic substances and vitamins and accelerates the lipolysis.” It’s not clear where lipolysis (= fat breakage) occurs, whether it would be in the yeast used for fermentation, in the rice itself or even if it is an effect in the body of the person consuming the drink.  This is also the “secret” to eliminate the undertow, to use rice instead of sugar in fermentation. Aline goes on and explains that “the hangover is caused by methanol, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and alcohols that are formed by yeast during fermentation. The sugar does not modify anything in this sense and neither the burned rice. Pyrolysis (= high temperature decomposition), which cause the bitter taste, occurs both in sugar and in rice.

Nothing is clear in the note, no explanation nor audited methods. The release also highlights the awards won by the drink development, however they are all national, nothing can be proven. In other words, the dream of the alcoholic drink wit no hangover the in next day is still just a dream.

You better hope that a device like Vive reach the market soon. Vive is a bracelet with sensors that measure the level of intoxication and dehydration of the user drinking alcohol, alerting your friends when something is going bad. Developed by students at the University of Washington, the bracelet tracks your friends by GPS and sends the alert, making the experience much more safe. And of course, it’s always good to remember that the best alternative is still knowing when you should stop drinking.

References: BBC, CNN, The Sun, Fine Dining Lovers